What does no transfer duty mean?

When you buy a property, the seller has to appoint a conveyancing attorney to transfer the property to your name (the ‘transfer of property’ process).

You pay the attorney for these services, and on top of that, you pay ‘transfer duty’, which is a tax payable to SARS.

However, you only pay transfer duty if the value of the property is above R1 100 000. The amount of transfer duty then increases according to the value of the property.

But in some cases you may be exempt from transfer duty even if the value of the property is above R1 100 000.

For example, purchasing property directly from a property developer exempts you from the need to pay transfer duty.

However, as SJ Botha Attorneys warns, buying property directly from a developer may exempt the buyer from transfer duty, but does require them to pay VAT instead.